The Red Cross Lobby, Congressman Beats Jeopardy! Computer and More in Capital Eye Opener: March 2

Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:RED CROSS MONTH: Like every president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President Barack Obama has proclaimed March to be Red Cross Month. Obama’s statement to mark the occasion read, “[d]uring American Red Cross Month, we celebrate our Nation’s humanitarian spirit, and we recommit to providing relief and hope in times of crisis.”

The American Red Cross explains that March is an opportunity to ramp up fund-raising for its efforts. And like many charitable organizations, the Red Cross is no stranger to using its funds for lobbying.

In 2010, the American Red Cross spent more than $282,000 on federal lobbying efforts. This total was an increase from the more than $237,000 in 2009 but much lower than its lobbying expenditure high in 2006 when the humanitarian organization spent $965,000 on lobbying.

What issues does the Red Cross lobby on? In 2010, the organization’s busiest issue area was on federal budget and appropriation issues, including appropriation requests for a new building.

By contrast, its most expensive lobbying year in 2006 saw the majority of its lobbying efforts focused on disaster and emergency planning relating to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

The American Red Cross focused much of its 2010 lobbying efforts on the U.S. House and U.S. Senate but almost made a notable presence in the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.

I’LL TAKE ‘SMART CONGRESSMAN’ FOR $400, ALEX:Asbury Park Pressreports that on Monday, Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) did what longtime Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings could not do: beat Watson the computer.

Holt is “an actual rocket scientists, as his supporters like to tout on bumper stickers,” as well as a five-time Jeopardy! winner from three decades ago. He is currently serving his seventh term as congressman.

Holt should hope his defeat of Watson doesn’t harm his fund-raising efforts. After all, during the 2010 election cycle, he did receive $20,000 from the electric utilities industry as well as $9,000 from the computers and Internet industry and $7,000 from the electronics manufacturing and services industry.

Admittedly, IBM, the makers of Watson, has never given Holt a cent in campaign contributions from its political action committee. Instead, Holt has received plenty of funds from IBM’s rival Microsoft — $8,000 since the 2000 election cycle — including a $2,000 contribution from the Microsoft Corp. PAC during the previous cycle.

SUSAN B. ANTHONY LIST GRATEFUL FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD CUTS:Politicoreports that the conservative Susan B. Anthony List is spending $200,000 in an ad campaign to thank congressmen for defunding Planned Parenthood. According to its website, Susan B. Anthony List’s has the “ultimate goal of ending abortion in this country.” In doing so, one of their tactics is to “elect pro-life women to Congress through our SBA List Candidate Fund.”

Although the Susan B. Anthony List may run messages of gratitude to some members of Congress this week, it is no stranger to opposing members. During the 2010 election cycle, its political action committee spent more than $40,000 in opposition to Democrats running for political office. Independent expenditures do not directly go to a political candidate but are used either in support of or in opposition to a candidate.

The recipients of contributions from the Susan B. Anthony PAC are overwhelmingly Republican. During the 2010 election cycle, the PAC contributed more than $173,000 to candidates running for political office. Fewer than three percent — a $5,000 contribution to Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.), who opposes abortion rights — supported Democrats.

The PAC is closely tied with other conservative-leaning PACs. For example, it received $5,000 from the Citizens United PAC, the same organization of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission notoriety. The Susan B. Anthony List has also contributed to Republican leadership PACs, including $5,000 to the MICHELE PAC of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), and $5,000 to the Senate Conservatives Fund, operated by Sen. Jim Demint (R-S.C.).

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